"BILLY THE KID" KILLS TWO MORE MEN. AT THE HEAD OF A RECKLESS BAND, HE
STEALS HORSES BY THE WHOLESALE. HE BECOMES DESPERATELY IN LOVE WITH MISS
DULCUIEA DEL TOBOSO.
After their escape from Lincoln, "Billy the Kid" got his little band
together, and made a business of stealing stock and gambling. Their
headquarters were made in the hills near Fort Stanton--only a few miles
above Lincoln. The soldiers at the Fort paid no attention to them.
Now Governor Lew Wallace, the famous author of "Ben Hur," of Santa Fe, the
capital of the Territory of New Mexico, issued a proclamation granting a
pardon to "Billy the Kid" and his followers, if they would quit their
lawlessness, but the "Kid" laughed it off as a joke.
On the 5th day of August, "Billy the Kid" and gang rode up in plain view
of the Mescalero Indian Agency and began rounding up a band of horses.
A Jew by the name of Bernstein, mounted a horse and said he would go out
and stop them. He was warned of the danger, but persisted in his purpose
of preventing the stealing of their band of gentle saddle horses.
When Mr. Bernstein rode up to the gang and told them to "vamoose," in
other words, to hit the road, the "Kid" drew his rifle and shot the poor
Jew dead. This was the "Kid's" most cowardly act. His excuse was that he
"didn't like a Jew, nohow."
During the fall the government had given a contract to a large gang of
Mexicans to put up several hundred tons of hay at $25 a ton. As they drew
their pay, the "Kid" and gang were on hand to deal monte and win their
money.
When the contract was finished, there was no more business for the "Kid's"
monte game, so with his own hand, as told to the author by himself, he set
fire to the hay stacks one windy night.
Now the Government gave another contract for several hundred tons of hay
at $50 a ton--as the work had to be rushed before frost killed the grass.
When pay day came around the "Kid's" monte game was raking in money again.
The new stacks were allowed to stand, as it was too late in the season to
cut the grass for more hay.
During the fall the "Kid" and some of his gang made trips to Fort Sumner.
Bowdre and Skurlock always remained near their wives in Lincoln, but
finally those two outlaws moved their families to "Sumner," where a
rendezvous was established. Here one of their gang, who always kept in the
dark, and worked on the sly, lived with his Mexican wife, a sister to the
wife of Pat Garrett. His name was Barney Mason, and he carried a curse of
God on his brow for the killing of John Farris, a cowboy friend of the
writer's, in the early winter of 1878.
On one of his trips to Fort Sumner, "Billy the Kid" fell desperately in
love with a pretty little seventeen-year-old half-breed Mexican girl, whom
we will call Miss Dulcinea del Toboso. She was a daughter of a once famous
man, and a sister to a man who owned sheep on a thousand hills. The
falling in love with this pretty, young miss, was virtually the cause of
"Billy the Kid's" death, as up to the last he hovered around Fort Sumner
like a moth around a blazing candle. He had no thought of getting his
wings singed; he couldn't resist the temptation of visiting this pretty
little miss.
During the month of September, 1878, the "Kid" and part of his gang
visited the town of Lincoln, and on leaving there stole a large band of
fine range horses from Charlie Fritz and others.
This band of horses was driven to Fort Sumner, thence east to Tascosa in
the wild Panhandle of Texas, on the Canadian river.
While disposing of these horses to the cattlemen and cowboys, the "Kid"
and his gang camped for several weeks at the "LX" cattle ranch, twenty
miles below Tascosa.
It was here, during the months of October and November, 1878, that the
writer made the acquaintance of "Billy the Kid," Tom O'Phalliard, Henry
Brown, Fred Wyat, John Middleton, and others of the gang whose names can't
be recalled.
The author had just returned from Chicago where he had taken a shipment of
fat steers, and found this gang of outlaws camped under some large
cottonwood trees, within a few hundred yards of the "LX" headquarter ranch
house.
For a few weeks, much of my time was spent with "Billy the Kid." We became
quite chummy. He presented me with a nicely bound book, in which he wrote
his autograph. I had previously given him a fine meerschaum cigar holder.
While loafing in their camp, we passed off the time playing cards and
shooting at marks. With our Colt's 45 pistols I could hit the mark as
often as the "Kid," but when it came to quick shooting, he could get in
two shots to my one.
I found "Billy the Kid" to be a good natured young man. He was always
cheerful and smiling. Being still in his teens, he had no sign of a beard.
His eyes were a hazel blue, and his brown hair was long and curly. The
skin on his face was tanned to a chestnut brown, and was as soft and
tender as a baby's. He weighed about one hundred and forty pounds, and was
five feet, eight inches tall. His only defects were two upper front teeth,
which projected outward from his well shaped mouth.
During his many visits to Tascosa, where whiskey was plentiful, the "Kid"
never got drunk. He seemed to drink more for sociability than for the
"love of liquor."
Here Henry Brown and Fred Wyat quit the "Kid's" outlaw gang and went to
the Chickasaw Nation, in the Indian Territory, where the parents of
half-breed Fred Wyat lived.
It is said that Fred Wyat, in later years, served as a member of the
Oklahoma Legislature.
Henry Brown became City Marshal of Caldwell, Kansas, and while wearing his
star rode to the nearby town of Medicine Lodge, with three companions and
in broad day light, held up the bank, killing the president, Wiley Payne,
and his cashier, George Jeppert. This put an end to Henry Brown, as the
enraged citizens mobbed the whole band of "bad men."
The snow had begun to fly when the "Kid" and the remnant of his gang
returned to Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
One of his followers, John Middleton, had sworn off being an outlaw and
rode away from Tascosa, for southern Kansas, where the author met him in
later years. He had settled down to a peaceful life.
The "Kid" made his headquarters at Fort Sumner, so as to be near his
sweetheart. He made several raids into Lincoln County to steal cattle and
horses. On one of these trips to Lincoln County, his respect for women and
children, avoided a bloody battle with United States soldiers.
In the month of February, 1879, Wm. H. McBroom, at the head of a United
States surveying crew, established a camp at the Roberts ranch on the
Penasco creek, in the Pecos valley.
While absent with most of his crew, Mr. McBroom left a young man,
twenty-two years of age, Will M. Tipton, in charge of the camp and extra
mules. A young Mexican by the name of Nicholas Gutierez was detailed to
help young Tipton care for the stock.
Their camp was within a few hundred feet of the Roberts home, on the bank
of the creek. One morning Mr. Roberts started up the river to Roswell to
buy supplies, leaving his wife, grown daughter, and five-year-old son at
the ranch.
Late that evening, Captain Hooker and some negro soldiers pitched camp
near the Roberts home. They had several American prisoners with them, to
be taken to Fort Stanton and placed in jail.
That night after supper, Mr. Will M. Tipton, who at this writing, 1920, is
a highly respected citizen of Santa Fe, New Mexico, says he and Nicolas
Gutierez were sitting on the bank of the creek in their camp. He was
playing a guitar while Nicolas was singing. Just then a horseman climbed
up the steep embankment from the bed of the creek, and dismounted.
This stranger began asking questions about the soldiers' camp, where the
camp-fires blazed brilliantly in the pitchy darkness.
Finally the stranger gave a shrill whistle, and soon a companion rode into
camp, out of the bed of the creek.
This second visitor was a slender, boyish young man, who seemed anxious to
learn all about the soldiers' camp.
In a few moments three negro soldiers strolled into camp and chatted
awhile. When they left to return to their quarters, the two strangers bade
Tipton and his companion goodnight, and rode down the bed of the creek.
At noon next day, Mr. Roberts returned from Roswell. On meeting young
Tipton, he remarked: "You boys had 'Billy the Kid' as a visitor last
night." He then told of meeting the "Kid" and his band of "warriors" that
morning, and of how the "Kid" told of his visit to the McBroom camp. He
told Will Tipton that the small young man was the "Kid."
"Billy the Kid" had told Roberts that they had planned to make a charge
into the soldiers' camp and liberate the prisoners, who were friends of
theirs, but finding that Mrs. Roberts and the children were alone, and
that the soldiers' camp was so near the Roberts home, they gave up the
proposed battle, knowing that the shooting would disturb Mrs. Roberts and
the family.
Mr. Roberts explained to Mr. Tipton that he had always fed the "Kid" and
his "warriors" when they happened by his place, hence their friendship for
him.
Now the "Kid" and his party rode to Lincoln to use their influence in a
peaceful way to liberate their friends, whom Capt. Hooker intended to
turn over to the new sheriff of Lincoln County.
In Lincoln the "Kid" met his former chum, Jesse Evans, and they started
out to celebrate the meeting. With Jesse Evans was a desperado named
William Campbell.
One night a lawyer named Chapman, who had been sent from Las Vegas to
settle up the McSween estate, was in the saloon, when Campbell shot at his
feet to make him dance. The lawyer protested indignantly and was shot dead
by Campbell.
Jimmie Dolan and J. B. Mathews, being present, were later arrested, along
with Campbell, for this killing.
Dolan and Mathews came clear at the preliminary trial, and Campbell was
bound over to the Grand Jury. He was taken to Fort Stanton and placed in
jail. There he made his escape and has never been heard of in that part of
the country since.
Now "Billy the Kid" and Tom O'Phalliard rode back to Fort Sumner, but soon
returned to Lincoln, where they were arrested by Sheriff Kimbrall and his
deputies--merely as a matter of performing their duty, but with no
intention of disgracing them. They were turned over to Deputy Sheriff T.
B. Longworth and guarded in the home of Don Juan Patron, where they were
wined and dined.
On the 21st day of March, 1879, Deputy Sheriff Longworth received orders
to place his two prisoners in the town jail--a filthy hole.
Arriving at the jail door, the "Kid" told Mr. Longworth that he had been
in this jail once before, and he swore he would never go into it again,
but to avoid making trouble, he would go back on his pledge.
On a pine door to one of the cells, the "Kid" wrote with his pencil:
"William Bonney was incarcerated first time, December 22nd, 1878--Second
time, March 21st, 1879, and hope I will never be again. W. H. Bonney."
This inscription showed on the old jail door for many years after it was
written.
The first time the "Kid" was put in this jail he walked right out, and
this second time, he broke down the door when he got ready to go.
After breaking out of the jail, the "Kid" and O'Phalliard spent a couple
of weeks in Lincoln, carrying their rifles whenever they walked through
the street, in plain view of the sheriff.
In April, they returned to Fort Sumner and were joined by Charlie Bowdre
and Skurlock. Jesse Evans had left for the lower Pecos, where he was later
killed, according to reports.
The summer was spent by the "Kid" and his followers stealing cattle and
horses.
In October they went to Roswell and stole 118 head of John Chisum's
fattest steers, and later sold them to Colorado beef buyers. The "Kid"
claimed that Chisum owed him for fighting his battles during the Lincoln
County war, and he was using this method to get his pay.
From now on, for the next year, the "Kid" and gang did a wholesale
business in stealing cattle. Tom Cooper and his gang had joined issues
with the "Kid" and party, and they established headquarters at the
Portales Lake--a salty body of water at the foot of the Staked Plains,
about seventy-five miles east of Fort Sumner.
Here a permanent camp was pitched against a cliff of rock, at a fresh
water spring, and it afterward became noted as "Billy the Kid's" cave. A
rock wall had been built against the cliff to take in the spring, and
afforded protection as a fort in case of a surprise from Indians or
law-officers.
They had the whole country to themselves, as there were no
inhabitants--only drifting bands of buffalo hunters.
Raids were made into the Texas Panhandle, the western line being a few
miles east of their camp, and fat steers stolen from the "LX" and "LIT"
cattle ranges on the Canadian river.
These herds of stolen steers were driven to Tularosa, in Dona Ana County,
New Mexico, and turned over to Pat Cohglin, the "King of Tularosa," who
had a contract to furnish beef to the U. S. soldiers at Ft. Stanton.
Cohglin had made a deal with "Billy the Kid" to buy all the steers he
could steal in the Texas Panhandle, and deliver to him in Tularosa.
In January, 1880, the "Kid" added another notch on the handle of his
pistol as a mankiller. He and a crowd of the Chisum cowboys were
celebrating in Bob Hargroves' saloon in Fort Sumner. A bad-man from Texas,
by the name of Joe Grant, was filling his hide full of "Kill-me-quick"
whiskey, in the Hargroves' saloon.
Grant pulled a fine, ivory-handled Colt's pistol from the scabbard of
Cowboy Finan, putting his own pistol in place of it.
Here the "Kid" asked Grant to let him look at this beautiful,
ivory-handled pistol. The request was granted. Then the "Kid" revolved the
cylinder and saw there were two empty chambers. He let the hammer down so
that the first two attempts to shoot would be failures.
Now the pretty pistol was handed back to Grant and he stuck it in his
scabbard.
A little later Grant stepped behind the bar, so as to face the crowd, and
jerking his pistol, he began knocking glasses off the bar with it. Eyeing
"Billy the Kid," he remarked: "Pard, I'll kill a man quicker than you
will, for the whiskey."
The "Kid" accepted the challenge. Grant fired at the "Kid," but the hammer
struck on an empty chamber. Now the "Kid" planted a ball between Grant's
eyes and he fell over dead.
At the Bosque Grande, on the Pecos river, the three Dedrick boys, Sam,
Dan, and Mose, owned a ranch, which became quite a rendezvous for the
"Kid's" and Tom Cooper's gangs. From here the herds of stolen Panhandle,
Texas, cattle were started across the waterless desert to the foot of the
Capitan mountains, a distance of about one hundred miles.
Here Dave Rudabaugh, who had the previous fall killed the jailer in Las
Vegas in trying to liberate his friend, Webb, joined "Billy the Kid's"
gang. Also Billy Wilson and Tom Pickett joined the party, and their time
was spent stealing cattle and horses.